Cost to expand Windsor’s recreation center remains unclear

A potential first-floor layout of an expanded Windsor’s Community Recreation Center is shown in the picture from the town of Windsor. On Aug. 25, Windsor Town Board voted 6-0 to have voters decide if they want to raise taxes to expand the CRC.
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Courtesy photo
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Windsor Town Board is trying to fill in the blanks on a proposed ballot question that asks taxpayers to fund an expansion of the town’s Community Recreation Center.

Town board was presented three different estimates — $16.1 million, $16.4 million and $18.3 million — of how much it would cost to expand the CRC last week during a work session, but the board couldn’t decide on what amount to ask taxpayers to OK for the project. The town is required to have voters decide on whether or not to fund the CRC expansion through a hike in Windsor’s sales and use tax rate and the issuance of bonds.

Board member Ivan Adams voiced concerns about asking residents to approve more than $16.1 million of debt for the project, because that’s the dollar amount residents were told this summer when they attended public meetings about the proposed CRC expansion.

“ We’ve told people ($16.1 million), and we’ve had it in the newspapers,” Adams said. “Then we say, ‘Oh now it’s $16.4 (million).’ That makes us liars.”

Increasing the amount of debt that voters will have to OK for the project will make residents more apprehensive to approve expanding the CRC, he said. If the project ends up costing more than expected, the board can find ways to make up the difference.

Some board members agreed with Adams, while others like board member Kristie Melendez said that it would be better to ask voters for more on the ballot. Melendez said she doesn’t want to run the risk of the project costing more than bonds and a tax increase would cover.

“I’d rather be in that position where we actually come in under the number that we put out to voters, so we don’t have to go back, re-look or rethink,” she said. “I don’t want to drag through this mess ever again once it’s done.”

Town Board has not officially endorsed the project, but has agreed to let voters decide if the CRC should be expanded. The elected officials will have a better sense of how much the project would cost once Windsor sits down with designers and developers to plan the expansion, but that won’t happen until after the November election.

“The timing is absolutely perfect for this project from a Windsor support-base (standpoint),” town manager Kelly Arnold said. “The other flip side to that is this is absolutely the wrong time, in many ways, in terms of guessing what the number is going to be from a resource perspective.”

The board ended the work session deciding to develop two versions of the questions. One asks voters to approve a debt limit of $16.1 million to be raised through taxes and bonds, while the other calls for $16.4 million.

The ammount that will appear on the ballot will be decided by the board in coming weeks.